Two Birds
by Crimson Tranquility
Summary: Set it free. Let it go. If it returns, it's yours. If not, it never was. Sometimes that only thing that you can do is kill two birds with one stone. Naruto and Sakura come face-to-face with their personal bird, Sasuke. Was he ever theirs?


**Author's Note**: Hello everybody! SPOILER ALERT: So I got the idea for this fic stuck in my head a few weeks ago when the Naruto manga came out with that chapter where Sasuke sacrifices Karin to kill Danzo. And yeah, I know she's alive and everything but still, it was so intense and now Sasuke almost kills Sakura last week?! :'-( All of us Sasuke x Sakura fans are getting depressed very quickly. Hope is being lost faster than you can say, 'Is there any ramen?!' Anyway, this is a very quick and not proofread fic that just needed to get out of my head. Hope you like! Do me a solid and review?! It really does help!!**

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**Two Birds**

"And when we find him, I'll knock him out with a single punch and make him come back with us!"

"And if that doesn't work, I'll persuade him with my good looks!"

Laughter filled the air between the two friends.

That was how it started.

Another rescue mission to bring back the once-beloved Uchiha who had gotten away from them all.

Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno had vowed to each other that they would bring him back, bring back their happiness, bring back their family.

It was supposed to be just a spy gather information mission; just supposed to gain information on the lost Uchiha and help to compile a more complete file so that they could later carry on a rescue mission.

Tsunade knew what it meant to them, which was why she allowed just Naruto and Sakura to go by themselves and gain some information. It was a basic mission. A 'two-day at most' mission.

A 'information-gaining' mission like theirs was placed as a D-rank mission. There was less than 10% dangerous calculated in the mission briefing.

But somewhere along the way it had gone terribly wrong.

The night before they met up with _him_, sitting across from each other on logs with a warm and bright fire in between them, Naruto and Sakura excitedly talked about the possibility of actually finding out where _he_ was. And then in a few months Tsunade would reveal the file on 'Sasuke Uchiha: S-ranked missing-nin' and finally allow them to go after him.

But they had been warned that perhaps Sasuke would not want to be chased after. They remembered what Kakashi-sensei had told them. They had been training all morning. After taking a break for lunch, Naruto and Sakura had once again started talking about Sasuke and dragging "his arrogant Uchiha-ass" back to Konoha once and for all.

Kakashi had looked at them seriously then. "No one likes to be caged in, guys."

"What are you going on about, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto whined as Sakura smacked him in the back of the head.

Kakashi sighed. "We're all... like birds."

"Birds? Where are you going with this, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said in bewilderment at the strange outcome of his speech.

"Yes, Sakura. We're all like birds, just waiting to take flight. We all care for Sasuke and so when he left, we chased after him, because we all love him and want him back here with us. But we need to remember that we set Sasuke free. If he returns, he always was meant to be with us. But if he doesn't, he never was. Sasuke has to figure out for himself if he can free himself from darkness and fly with us once again," Kakashi finished, his eyes finding his students'.

Bright blue and emerald green stared up at him before they burst out laughing at the ridiculous speech. Kakashi soon joined in and the three of them had a good laugh.

But now as they were on a mission to obtain information about him, both Sakura and Naruto remembered the strange speech in the back of their minds and the significance of it.

They joked and talked with the orange flames flickering in between them.

Naruto swore he was stronger now and that a single punch would knock Sasuke out and he would drag him back to Konoha. His goofy grin spread across his face as he made a muscle with his arm.

Sakura grinned. If that didn't work, she was sure she could persuade him with a coy smile, or a flirtatious wink and hair flip combo.

They laughed and agreed they would go over the logistics of _that_ plan after rendezvousing with tomorrow's informant.

As the moon rose higher and higher in the sky and the laughter died out slowly into comfortable silence, they got to their feet and put out the fire, and turned to each other in the darkness.

"Good night, Sakura-chan," Naruto said softly, his bright blue eyes staring at the girl in front of him.

"Good night, Naruto," she said, a gently smile crossing her pretty features.

His arms opened slightly and she took it as her cue to step into them, allowing him to wrap her up in his warmth.

Her own arms hugged him. He rested his chin on the crown of her head.

"We've almost got him," he mumbled tiredly to her.

"Mmm," she hummed in agreement.

They basked in the comfort of each other for a moment longer and then untangled themselves and with a wave, each walked into their own tents.

The next day they did not find information on Sasuke's whereabouts.

They found Sasuke.

Instead of bringing the comfort they thought seeing him again would, they found out very quickly that the Sasuke they once knew really was lost.

And he would not be found; not even with a fight would he be found out of his own darkness.

He had begged and pleaded for her not to come closer but when did Sakura ever listen to Naruto? Especially when it concerned Sasuke.

"God, no! Not her! Stay away, Sakura!" Naruto yelled urgently, his eyes panicked as he came face-to-face with Sasuke.

They were traveling through the dense forest, on the way to the village where they were supposed to meet up with their confidant.

Naruto had found him. Well, stumbled upon him would probably be more appropriate.

As Naruto and Sakura raced through the forest trail, Naruto in front and gloating as Sakura whined about "unfair head-starts," Naruto stopped short as he walked into a clearing in the middle of the forest.

The treetops covered the sky from them, leaving the forest floor dark, as if it were late afternoon instead of early morning.

The laughter and gaiety quickly left his bright blue eyes as he gazed in awe and shock at the sight of the Uchiha fan proudly on the back of the figure in front of him.

"Do you ever give up?" the voice of his long-lost best friend asked dryly.

A moment later a lightening charge of Chidori flew towards Naruto as he jumped quickly upwards into the leaves and branches.

He landed back on the forest floor to see the boy in front of him turn around to face him.

Approaching footsteps resounded through the air and Naruto's head snapped backwards. He yelled for her to stop as she came running towards him.

She stopped short, a questioning look on her face, until she saw the man in front of him.

"Sasuke-kun?" she whispered.

Naruto flashed in front of her, his back to her as he threw his arms out, shielding her from _his_ view.

"Get out of here!" He growled at her, his voice full of panic. "He's going to fight!"

"N-" her voice was not heard as Naruto and Sasuke disappeared in a flash and met in the middle, punches being thrown and kicks being evaded.

It only lasted about an hour.

Sakura had joined the fight and though it was the two of them fighting against one and they had both gotten stronger, they weren't the ones fighting to kill.

But he was.

Which lead to the scene in front of them; Naruto had taken the bulk of the hits, and was currently panting on the floor, his leg a bloody mess as he kneeled.

Sakura ran to him, ignoring the Uchiha who stood on the far end of the meadow, a bored expression marring his features.

"Naruto!" she cried out, sinking to the floor in front of him as she tried to heal him.

"Get…get out of here!" Naruto panted, his voice urgent and husky. "G-go!"

"And leave you?! Hell no! We'll both leave and update this damn file!" She shot back angrily.

"Do you ever give up?" the Uchiha's voice broke through their little conversation as Sakura spun around and stood in front of Naruto, her arms coming up to shield him from Sasuke, a painful and ironic reminder of how the fight had begun.

"No. And we never will, Sasuke-kun," she said firmly to him, staring at him in the eyes.

"You shouldn't be so foolish. No wonder Konoha loses so many ninjas. Half of them do nothing while the other half loyally die at the elders' feet," he sneered.

"What the hell are you going on about?" Naruto said, breathing deeply as he rose to his feet behind Sakura.

"Nothing that you will ever understand," the Uchiha jeered.

"Sasuke, you have to let go of this hatred. Of this darkness! Let yourself be free." A recollection suddenly popped into his head. "Kakashi-sensei told us something once! You need to, to let yourself be free, like a bird. Like us," Naruto tried reasoning.

"Like a bird?" the Uchiha's face contorted into a furious expression. "Do you know Itachi used to use crows against his enemies in a jutsu? To confuse them?"

"What are you sa-"

"Shut up! You're as free as a bird in a cage!" Sasuke spat.

The air became quiet. The tension crackled between the former teammates and friends.

"Sasuke, come back with us," Sakura pleaded, shaking her head gently.

"Come with us, Sasuke," Naruto sighed.

"Where? Where would I go with you?" he questioned in an eerie whisper.

"To Konoha, of course," Sakura said, searching his eyes for another answer.

"I'm already heading there."

And with that, Sasuke flung his arm back before propelling his sword forward, straight through Sakura's stomach and continuing forward into Naruto's chest.

Time stopped.

Sakura coughed out blood the same time Naruto's blue eyes widened.

She slumped forward slightly. "W-wh…why?" she slurred out, dizziness and blood loss already taking it's toll on her.

Connected together on the sword, Naruto's face scrunched into pain as he made himself lift his arms to grasp his pink-haired teammate. His arms wrapped around her waist from behind as he pushed himself deeper into the sword to hold her.

It was the end and they both knew it.

And if they had to face it, they would do it together.

"Why…h-her?" Naruto questioned, feeling Sakura lean her weight back into him. They stared at their own-beloved teammate with dull eyes and expressions.

"Just getting rid of two birds with one stone," he said evenly, cleanly pulling his sword back towards him, freeing the two.

Sakura slumped back into Naruto's body as he stumbled a few steps, breathing hard.

"Nar… Naruto," she said slowly, her eyes drooping. Hot tears were filling her eyes as she coughed out more blood. "He isn't… coming…"

"I… know," Naruto mumbled softly, burying his face into her hair. Fatigue overtook his body as he fell roughly backwards into a tree trunk, his arms still firmly around the girl.

They came into a sitting position, Sakura resting against Naruto's chest, her body in between his legs, her head lolling onto his shoulder.

If it wasn't for the crimson red that covered the both of them, it would have seemed like a couple in love, resting together.

"Our… plan… di-didn't work," she said quietly, tears washing down her face as she closed her eyes, a calm smile gracing her features as her body became limp.

"I know," he said softly, breathing out into her hair, his eyes blurry from the tears.

Sasuke didn't spare them a glance as he disappeared into the air.

His arms dropped from around her waist as his head fell backwards against the bark. "Caged, huh?" he muttered in his last breath.

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I'm sorry! I know it's depressing but I **n e e d e d** to write this angsty thing! Because right now, it seems like Sasuke is on this path of destruction to Konoha and he won't care if he'll kill Sakura or Naruto. Anyway, let me know how you liked it!

Review!

**BTW: I was rereading this fic while listening to a song that just completely captures the atmosphere of the fic that I was trying to convey. Check it out and reread for yourself! It's From the Valley to the Stars by El Perro del Mar. Youtube it or something.**


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